"Ko te manu e kai ana i te miro, nōna te ngahere, ko te manu e kai ana i te mātauranga, nōna te Ao."
The bird who feeds on the miro has the forest, the bird who feeds on knowledge has the world.
On 27 April Wallace Wihongi was acknowledged for his outstanding contribution to Māori Education in Te Tai Tokerau. He is retiring after 13 years as a lecturer at The University of Auckland’s Te Tai Tokerau campus in Whangarei. He has played a significant role in the success of the students who have completed teaching qualifications at the campus. Over the years Wallace has ensured that te reo Māori and tikanga Māori were a key part of students’ learning at the Campus. Many have gone on to teach in Te Tai Tokerau where a large proportion of students are Māori.
Wallace has always recognised the importance that access to higher education has for Tai Tokerau Māori and for the wider community. He put great effort into ensuring that people in the north were aware of the opportunities to study locally for a teaching degree. He has been one of the most dedicated supporters and promoters of firstly the Auckland College of Education and then the University in the north. When the Faculty of Education offered its Māori medium teaching degree programme in Kaikohe, Wallace was the natural choice to lead it.
Wallace’s farewell was unique in that it involved a "This is Your Life" show, written and staged by many of his 12 children and 22 grandchildren. The show was attended by Tai Tokerau staff, family, iwi representatives, staff from Epsom, and representatives from Northland schools. Students and staff from Northland College, where he taught before working for the Faculty of Education, played a significant role in the formal protocols of the day and contributed to the show with a kapa haka performance.
Wallace expressed mixed feelings about being recognised for, in his words, "doing a job for which I got paid very well."
"Now my name is carved into the stone of the University as a lecturer and for that I am grateful," he continued. "I thank the colleagues who befriended, supported, inspired and helped me in the 13 years I was lecturing—those people who came from Auckland, Whangarei and locally."
Wallace also expressed his appreciation to the principal, staff and students from Northland College who turned up to speak and perform at his farewell. And he made special mention of his wife Blossom, who he described as his "anchor, support and helper" over his years of service to education and to community in Te Tai Tokerau. In retirement Wallace will continue to make significant contributions to his whānau, iwi community and marae in Te Tai Tokerau.
